Allianz SE Makes New Investment in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Allianz SE bought a new stake in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Campbell Soup by 1,593.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,904,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,005 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 161.8% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 186,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,801,000 after buying an additional 115,122 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Campbell Soup in the fourth quarter worth about $1,062,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 133.3% during the fourth quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 147,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,156,000 after purchasing an additional 84,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,787,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,860,000 after purchasing an additional 21,849 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CPB opened at $39.92 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.92. The company has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.15. The Campbell Soup Company has a 52 week low of $36.92 and a 52 week high of $52.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.17%.

Insider Activity

In other Campbell Soup news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $83,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $693,486.90. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 20.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on CPB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Campbell Soup from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Bank of America cut their price target on Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Campbell Soup in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.86.

About Campbell Soup

Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Meals & Beverages and Snacks segments. The Meals & Beverages segment engages in the retail and foodservice businesses in the United States and Canada.